Chinese Navy Ships Begin First Ever Visit to AfricaA ship group of the People's Liberation Army Navy of China berthed at the Dar es Salaam harbor Friday morning, beginning a two-day maiden goodwill visit to Tanzania.This is also the first-ever visit by navy ships of the People's Republic of China since its founding in 1949 to the African continent, though whose eastern coast had been visited for several times in early 1400s by the trade fleet headed by Zheng He, a great voyager of the Ming Dynasty of China. The group, headed by RADM Huang Jiang, Chief of Staff of the South Sea Fleet, consists of the Shenzhen DDG167, a guided-missile destroyer, and Nancang AOG953, an assorted supply ship with a total of 480 officers and sailors aboard. They were greeted by Tanzanian Navy Commander RADM Sander and other senior officers along with overseas Chinese in Tanzania. Leaving its base in Zhanjiang in southern China on July 5, the Chinese warships first paid a four-day visit to Malaysia from July 11 to 14. They will leave Tanzania on July 30 for Cape Town, South Africa, for their last leg of the three Asian-African states tour, which is aimed at further promoting the mutual understanding and friendship between the armed forces and the peoples. During their stay in the port of Dar es Salaam, the Chinese officers and sailors will hold a friendly football match with their counterparts of the Tanzanian People's Defense Forces while their ships are open to the public both on Friday and Saturday. |
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